Skiing or snowboarding can present a few interesting dilemmas with regards to technology. What if a skier is out with their friends and wants to communicate with them over the phone, say, to check up on their location? It’s a schlep for said skier to do all of this directly from their phone, as they would be forced to remove their glove and navigate their phone in exceptionally cold temperatures. And what if a snowboarder, who prefers to listen to music while cruising down a hill, decides mid-run that they are no longer a fan of the song they first picked? The snowboarder would face a dilemma similar to that of the skier. Moral of the story: operating a phone while partaking in snow sports is a problem that needs solving.
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YodelUP, a new wearable by YodelTECH, Inc., is hoping to emerge as a possible solution to all of the issues plaguing skiers and snowboarders who wish to listen to music or chat with their friends while on the slopes. The YodelUP looks like a watch with several large buttons instead of a clock face, and it is most generally an “on-glove wearable for music and communication.”
Doubling as a music controller and essentially a walkie-talkie, the YodelUP is worn over a glove, directly around the wrist, and allows its wearer to answer and make calls, as well as control music, from the YodelUP itself. This is made possible by a remote connection from the on wrist-device to the user’s phone, so that several key operations normally requiring the physical phone can be managed on the YodelUP wearer’s wrist. Specifically, the device connects to the walkie-talkie app Zello on smartphones so that YodelUP users can talk, and connects via Bluetooth for music control.
While many new tech developments are a bit lofty and don’t necessarily have an instant niche to stimulate their popularity, YodelUP is a device set to appeal to a large contingent. The high-tech “watch” will immediately be popular among any and all skiers, snowboarders, and even just pedestrian snow enjoyers, all of whom don’t want to put their hands or phone at risk by taking off their gloves to operate their mobile device. But YodelUP should be of interest to others, as well — its waterproof nature and Bluetooth connectivity could catch the eye of surfers, for example, who don’t have the luxury of even carrying their phone on them. YodelUP could even please athletes who don’t partake in snow or water sports, and simply don’t want to use their phones while engaged in activity.
At roughly $75-$100 (the price of the gadget is still a bit oscillatory since it is in its kickstarter stage), YodelUP should have a good chance to find heavy popularity among anyone that wishes to talk and listen without actually having to use their phone.